The invention relates to a pallet repair system, and more specifically the invention relates to a pallet board remover where a lead board, a deckboard or a plurality of deckboards attached to a pallet may be efficiently removed by a mechanical mechanism.
Damaged deckboards and damaged lead boards on a pallet make for faulty pallets that are unsafe to support loads. The use of faulty pallets with damaged deckboards or damaged lead boards can lead to the damage of product or the injury of workers or customers. It is extremely costly to replace entire pallets and it is much more efficient just to repair the damaged pallet if one or more damaged deckboards or lead boards exist on the pallet. Damaged deckboards and damaged lead boards must be removed so that the pallet cores can be prepared for repair. The prepared pallet is then repaired by replacing the board, or sent to other stations where the replacement boards are nailed back on to make the pallet serviceable again.
The manual removal of deckboards, particularly the interior deckboards, has long been the most physically demanding part of the job which can result in injuries on the job and add additional labor costs in time alone. Destacking and stacking pallets for the process has been improved over the last 20 or so years by the development of machines that perform this work, as has the movement of pallets to and from repair operators via conveyors. Pneumatic nail guns have eliminated the manual task of driving nails with a hammer. However, a solution to the manual removal of deckboards in favor of an affordable mechanical deckboard removal device solution has remained elusive.
Historically, damaged deckboards and damaged lead boards (collectively referred to as “boards” or individually referred to as “board”) have been removed manually. This removal is achieved typically with a steel pry bar or other hand tool. A pry bar or other hand tool can only be applied to one position of the board at a time. The board being removed experiences stresses at different points as the operator pries and twists the board near nailed joints. This action often results in additional damage such as breaks to the boards and the pallet. Another consequence of this action is that the board will crack and splinter in the nail zone portion of the board, which in turn leaves nails in the stringer. If a nail is left in the stringer, additional time is required from the laborer to either remove the nail or drive it down into the stringer, both of which are physically taxing jobs. The development of a mechanical deckboard removal device would alleviate the need to do the job manually.
Furthermore, there are entities that use hundreds of thousands of pallets to move product or inventory. These entities have to manage the repair of hundreds to thousands of pallets that need boards removed quickly so that the pallets might be repaired. If the boards can be removed quickly, then the time spent repairing the pallets and the down time of not being able to use the pallet is minimized. Thus, the ability to expedite the board removal process would require a means of removing the damaged boards quickly from the board removal station. The use of a conveyor belt would help expedite this process by removing boards from the removal site to a container or dump station so that continuous work of the pallets that need repair would not be impaired.
Moreover, the work station that is used to remove the boards should accommodate the rapid movement and reversal of sides of the pallet. Often, there are damaged boards on both sides of the pallet. An operator needs to be able to efficiently slide the pallet on one side to the position required to efficiently remove the damaged board and then flip the pallet and possibly spin the pallet to remove a damaged board on the opposite side.
Additionally, it is beneficial to have some type of securement bar or device that helps keep the pallet situated and immobile while boards are being removed. When boards are removed quickly, the pallet itself might react from forces related to the immediate departure of the nails that secured the damaged board in a violent manner. Elastic forces may cause the pallet to jump or shift in a manner that could injure an operator or do more damage to the pallet itself.
Thus, there is a need for a device that can efficiently remove damaged lead boards and deckboards rapidly from pallets without breaking the board or the pallet. The method should be efficient enough such that the speed of the boards removed would merit the use of a conveyor belt or other transport device. However, the machine should be flexible enough to accommodate a hopper or bin receiver for the damaged boards that have been removed for operations that do not require the volume of work that would merit a conveyor belt.
There is also a need for a device that can remove boards without leaving nails in the stringer. By removing the boards without nails being stuck in the stringer, time is saved and injury to the workers can be avoided. Furthermore, the integrity of the pallet and stringer is preserved as additional stress is avoided to the wood.
There is also a need for a device that employs a substantially flat top surface to accommodate the manipulation of a pallet to situate a damaged board to a position where removal would take place. The substantially flat top surface should ideally be large enough to accommodate the majority of the surface of the pallet thus reducing any elastic instability effects brought upon by the removal activity. Furthermore, the substantially flat top surface should accommodate the operator in flipping the pallet manually or mechanically to remove boards from both sides of the pallet.
There is also a need for a device with an optional safety feature to keep the pallet secure while boards are being removed. Such a safety feature should protect the operator from injury and assist in preventing undue stress in the pallet.